The Byzantine Emperor ruled as an absolute monarch in an institution which lasted from the 4th to 15th century CE. Aided by ministers, high-ranking nobility, and key church figures, the emperor (and sometimes empress) was commander-in-chief of the army, head of the Church and government, controlled the state finances, and appointed or dismissed nobles at will. The position was conventionally hereditary but new dynasties would be founded throughout the medieval period.
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Definition
Timeline
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395 CE - 408 CEReign of Byzantine emperor Arkadios.
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408 CE - 450 CEReign of Byzantine Emperor Thedosius II.
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450 CE - 457 CEReign of Byzantine emperor Marcian.
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457 CE - 474 CEReign of Byzantine emperor Leo I.
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457 CELeo I is crowned by the Patriarch of Constantinople, the first Byzantine emperor to be crowned by a bishop.
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474 CEReign of Byzantine emperor Leo II.
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491 CE - 518 CEReign of Byzantine emperor Anastasios I.
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518 CE - 527 CEReign of Byzantine emperor Justin I.
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527 CE - 565 CEReign of Byzantine Emperor Justinian I.
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565 CE - 578 CEReign of Byzantine emperor Justin II.
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578 CE - 582 CEReign of Byzantine emperor Tiberius II.
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582 CE - 602 CEReign of Byzantine emperor Maurice.
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602 CE - 610 CEReign of Byzantine emperor Phocas.
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610 CE - 641 CEReign of Byzantine emperor Heraclius.
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641 CEReign of Byzantine emperor Constantine III.
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641 CEReign of Byzantine emperor Heraklonas.
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668 CE - 685 CEReign of Byzantine emperor Constantine IV.
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685 CE - 695 CEFirst reign of Byzantine emperor Justinian II.
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695 CE - 698 CEReign of Byzantine emperor Leontios.
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698 CE - 705 CEReign of Byzantine emperor Tiberios II.
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705 CE - 711 CESecond reign of Byzantine emperor Justinian II.
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711 CE - 713 CEReign of Byzantine emperor Philippikos.
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713 CE - 716 CEReign of Byzantine emperor Anastasius II
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716 CE - 717 CEReign of Byzantine emperor Theodosius III.
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717 CE - 741 CEReign of Byzantine emperor Leo III.
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720 CEByzantine emperor Leo III makes his son Constantine V co-emperor.
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741 CE - 775 CEReign of Byzantine emperor Constantine V
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775 CE - 780 CEReign of Byzantine emperor Leo IV.
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780 CE - 790 CEEmpress Irene rules as regent for Byzantine emperor Constantine VI.
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780 CE - 797 CEReign of Byzantine emperor Constantine VI (with Empress Irene as regent 780-790 CE).
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790 CEByzantine emperor Constantine VI exiles his mother and regent Empress Irene.
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797 CE - 802 CEEmpress Irene rules the Byzantine empire.
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802 CEByzantine empress Irene is exiled to Lesbos.
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802 CE - 811 CEReign of Byzantine emperor Nikephoros I.
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811 CEReign of Byzantine emperor Stavrakios.
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811 CE - 813 CEReign of Byzantine emperor Michael I.
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813 CE - 820 CEReign of Byzantine emperor Leo V the Armenian.
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820 CE - 829 CEReign of Byzantine emperor Michael II.
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829 CE - 842 CEReign of Byzantine emperor Theophilos.
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842 CE - 867 CEReign of Byzantine emperor Michael III.
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866 CEByzantine emperor Michael III makes Basil the Macedonian co-emperor.
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867 CEBasil the Macedonian murders Byzantine emperor Michael III and declares himself Emperor Basil I.
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867 CE - 886 CEReign of Byzantine emperor Basil I.
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869 CEByzantine emperor Basil I crowns his son Constantine co-emperor.
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870 CEByzantine emperor Basil I crowns his son Leo co-emperor (future Leo VI).
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912 CE - 913 CEReign of Byzantine emperor Alexander.
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920 CE - 944 CEReign of Byzantine emperor Romanos I Lekapenos.
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945 CE - 959 CEReign of Byzantine emperor Constantine VII (ruled with a regent from 912 CE).
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959 CE - 963 CEReign of Byzantine emperor Romanos II.
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963 CE - 969 CEReign of Byzantine emperor Nikephoros II Phokas.
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969 CE - 976 CEReign of Byzantine Emperor John I Tzimiskes.
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1025 CE - 1028 CEReign of Byzantine emperor Constantine VIII.
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1028 CE - 1034 CEReign of Byzantine emperor Romanos III Argyros.
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1028 CE - 1050 CEReign of Byzantine Empress Zoe (including spells alongside three husbands, a nephew and sister).
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1034 CE - 1041 CEReign of Byzantine emperor Michael IV the Paphalgonian.
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1041 CE - 1042 CEReign of Byzantine emperor Michael V.
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1042 CE - 1055 CEReign of Byzantine emperor Constantine IX.
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Apr 1042 CE - Jun 1042 CEReign of Byzantine empresses Zoe and Theodora.
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1055 CE - 1056 CEReign of Byzantine Empress Theodora (alone).
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1056 CE - 1057 CEReign of Byzantine emperor Michael VI.
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1057 CE - 1059 CEReign of Byzantine emperor Isaac I Komnenos.
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1059 CE - 1067 CEReign of Byzantine emperor Constantine X.
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1067 CE - 1071 CEReign of Byzantine emperor Romanus IV Diogenes.
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1 Jan 1068 CERomanos IV Diogenes marries the widowed Empress Eudokia and becomes Byzantine emperor.
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1071 CE - 1078 CEReign of Byzantine emperor Michael VII.
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1078 CE - 1081 CEReign of Byzantine emperor Nikephoros III.
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Apr 1081 CE - Aug 1118 CEReign of Byzantine emperor Alexios I Komnenos.
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1118 CE - 1143 CEReign of Byzantine emperor John II Komnenos.
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1143 CE - 1180 CEReign of Byzantine emperor Manuel I Komnenos.
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1180 CE - 1183 CEReign of Byzantine emperor Alexios II.
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1183 CE - 1185 CEReign of Byzantine emperor Andronikos I.
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1185 CE - 1195 CEReign of Byzantine emperor Isaac II.
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1195 CE - 1203 CEReign of Byzantine emperor Alexios III.
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1203 CE - 1204 CEJoint reign of Byzantine emperors Isaac II and Alexios IV.
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1204 CEReign of Byzantine emperor Alexios IV.
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1204 CEReign of Byzantine Alexios V.
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1259 CE - 1282 CEReign of Byzantine emperor Michael VIII.
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1282 CE - 1328 CEReign of Byzantine emperor Andronikos I.
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1293 CE - 1320 CEReign of Byzantine emperor Michael IX.
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1328 CE - 1341 CEReign of Byzantine emperor Andronikos III.
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1341 CE - 1376 CEFirst reign of Byzantine emperor John V.
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1341 CE - 1354 CEReign of Byzantine emperor John VI.
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1376 CE - 1379 CEReign of Byzantine emperor Andronikos IV.
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1379 CE - 1391 CESecond reign of Byzantine emperor John V.
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1390 CEReign of Byzantine emperor John VII.
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1391 CE - 1425 CEReign of Byzantine emperor Manuel II.
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1425 CE - 1448 CEReign of Byzantine emperor John VIII.
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1449 CE - 1453 CEReign of the last Byzantine emperor Constantine XI.
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1449 CEConstantine XI Palaiologos is crowned as the last Byzantine emperor in Mystras.
